May 7: Justice S N Variava in a Special Court yesterday rejected offers for fallen securities trader Harshad Mehta's properties in South Mumbai as the prices quoted in the tenders were low.

According to Justice Variava's office, only two tenders were received and they were found to be unsatisfactory when they were opened in court. Mehta's properties were put up for auction following a custodian application under provisions of the Special Court (Trials of Offences Relating to Transaction in Securities) Act 1992.

Sources said about 19 flats in Gopal Mansion are up for sale. They had been procured by Velvet Holdings Pvt Ltd, a company belonging to the Mehta group. The flats are believed to have been acquired for around Rs 5 crore when the share market was bullish in early 1990.

Sources in the accommodation industry revealed that there has been no sale of property in income-tax auctions for a year now. This is mainly because real-estate prices have gone into a tailspin since mid-1995. Prices in South Mumbai and other parts of the city have slipped by 30 to 50 per cent, the sources said.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.